The evil that men do
by Shennyhater666
Summary: Penny and Sheldon are ready to get married, but there could be a problem for their future.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Although the story is based on incidents from the series, the timetable is different and they are expanded a little. In any case, I do not own anything and do this for my own pleasure and hopefully yours. **

After Penny dumped Leonard at the bowling alley, they tried to go on as friends, but Leonard found he could never be satisfied with that again. Eventually it hurt too much to see her all the time and he moved out.

With Leonard gone, Sheldon and Penny spent a lot of time alone. To their mutual surprise, they became romantically involved. Penny moved into Leonard's old room. Although they were now intimate, Sheldon still needed the privacy of his room.

Although they still both worked at Caltech, Leonard and Sheldon managed to have little contact. Howard and Raj stuck with Leonard who had been their friend before he brought them to Sheldon.

Left alone, Sheldon and Penny became even closer and about nine months after the breakup, they decided to get married. None of the others were invited and they planned to hold the wedding in Texas.

About two weeks before they were ready to leave for the wedding, Penny was shocked when during the middle of the day, Leonard came to the apartment.

Penny was a little surprised at her reaction, she hadn't realized how much she had missed Leonard. They had been really good friends for some time before they got involved. She wondered though what he was doing there. Was he going to try to mend fences, to congratulate her, or try to stop her from being with Sheldon?

"Leonard, what are you doing here? What do you want?"

"I came to talk to you about something, may I come in?"

Penny was torn, but her curiosity was aroused, "Sure, why not, come on in."

He sat down on the couch, but not in Sheldon's spot. Penny sat in the chair he used to sit in and waited.

"I don't really know why I came. I imagine you will believe I did it for revenge or to rub it in, but I just felt you should be forewarned about what is going on."

"If you're here to try to talk me out of going through with the wedding, or entertaining any kind of idea I still care about you, you might just as well leave."

"No, that's not it. I gave up on us some time ago. And I am not trying to stop you from marrying Sheldon, I just wanted to let you know what that may entail."

"Leonard, if your going to badmouth Sheldon, don't waste your breath. I know him and I love him how he is."

"Maybe this was a mistake, but I just wanted to warn you."

"Warn me about what?"

"It's kind of a long story, why don't I just go ahead and say what I have to say."

Penny felt she should ask him to leave, but if there really was something that could affect her and Sheldon, she wanted to hear it. "All right, go ahead. But I am going to get some wine, do you want anything?"

"Just some water."

After both were fortified with liquids, Leonard began.

"I assume that you remember Mrs. Latham?" Seeing Penny roll her eyes and smirk, "Yeah, that's the one. I know that nobody believed that I didn't sleep with her for the money, but she had already agreed to donate before we had sex. Actually, she seduced me by saying how good she was and she lived up to it."

"What I didn't know was that she took a personal interest in me after that and followed my career and my life. When she found out I was dumped, she was upset, but when you took up with Sheldon, she was really pissed off."

"It was bad enough you dumped me; but Sheldon? She already had a problem with him. When she called me that last night, Sheldon answered the phone and really insulted her. She told me she only didn't do something about it because we were roommates. She had also heard from her friends about how Sheldon had treated them at the fund raiser."

"After stewing about it for some time, she decided to complain to President Siebert..."

"_Believe me, Mrs. Latham, when you talk about Dr. Sheldon Cooper, you are singing to the choir. That man has been a pain in the neck for a long time. He has been deeply disrespectful to both me and Dr. Gablehauser. He has put down and angered practically every member of the faculty and most if not all of the students he comes in contact with."_

_Seeing her about to ask the obvious question, "Why haven't I taken action against him? It's because he is protected by several members of the Board of Directors. It seems that they were responsible for getting him to come to Caltech when every college wanted the Boy Wonder. They don't want anything to mar that achievement."_

"_Well, Dr. Siebert, I do have quite a bit of sway with the Board and could almost surely get some of my donor friends to join with me." But then she thought for a moment and went on, "But I really am invested in the future of Caltech and would not want to do anything to harm it. If he is an asset, I don't want to be responsible for losing him to another university."_

"_Actually, he has not been that great of an asset. In fact, there are several instances of him putting the University in a bad light."_

_Now very interested, she asked, "I don't suppose those incidents are serious enough that it could be possible he would not be able to catch on somewhere else?"_

_Siebert thought for a few moments, "I hadn't really thought about it before, but if you look at the total set of events, it might just be possible."_

_Mrs. Latham sat back, "Well, don't keep me in the dark. Spill." _


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N For those that may not read reviews, FactsoverFantasy pointed out that I misnamed Mrs. Latham. His/her user profile is apropos here :) I sincerely want to thank you for pointing this out to me. I have no idea where I got Mrs. Lathrop. Oh well, just goes to prove you need to do your research when you have a memory like mine. Again, I offer my apologies to all of you.**

**I want to thank all of you who took the time to review, I love getting your views. Also, thanks to all of you who honor me by reading my story. **

**As I said in my first note, this story completely ignores the timetable of events in the show. **

**I still own nothing.**

Penny stared at him, "You mean just because you bonked that old bitch, she thinks she needs to go after Sheldon? She must have been hard up." Penny immediately regretted saying that; Leonard had actually been a great lover, especially his foreplay.

Leonard wondered again if this had been a mistake. Penny had hurt him, but he thought he understood why she reacted the way she did. He had just moved too fast. Then he had compounded his mistake by trying to get her to say it. But that hurt paled to what he felt when she took up with Sheldon. But, he thought ruefully, although he felt Sheldon deserved whatever came to him, he just couldn't bring himself to hate Penny. He just felt she should know what could happen.

Smiling sadly, Leonard answered, "I would like to think she was interested because she liked and admired me."

"I'm sorry, Leonard, I didn't mean it to sound like it did."

"It's all right." He then continued, "Sheldon had always been a pain, but I think it really came home to Dr. Siebert when Sheldon first met Dr. Gablehauser. I mean, he showed him no respect at all. But I think we were still all stunned when Gablehauser fired him…"

_Dr Siebert got himself comfortable and went on, "It first came apparent what the situation was when Cooper insulted Dr. Gablehauser when he first came to work. I had been away, but when I came back, I was greeted by a member of the Board. He was irate, asking me how I allowed Sheldon to be fired. I had been the one who recommended Dr. Gablehauser and this was apparently my fault. I found myself in an untenable situation. I wasn't about to fire or censure Dr. Gablehauser for doing what I felt was the right thing to do, but it was made clear to me that if Sheldon didn't return, I and Gablehauser would join him. Luckily, Cooper's mother was able to talk him into apologizing. Actually, it wasn't much of an apology, but it got us off the hook. I had learned my lesson though. Dr. Sheldon Cooper was to be treated with kid gloves." _

Leonard took a sip and asked, "Penny, do you remember when Howard was up for an important project and Sheldon messed him up? It was when you won ten dollars from me when Sheldon immediately reneged on allowing Howard to sit in his spot."

Penny had to smile, "Yeah, easiest ten bucks I ever made. I couldn't believe you said five minutes. What about it?"

"It seems there was more to it than we knew at the time…"

_After getting a cup of coffee for himself and Mrs. Latham, Dr. Siebert got himself comfortable again and continued, "I think the first incident of where Cooper's actions affected the university was when one of our Engineers, Howard Wolowitz, had the opportunity to work on a top-secret project. This would not only be a large boost to his career, but would reflect well on Caltech. It promised to open more opportunities for some of our other faculty members. They sent an agent to talk to several individuals in order for him to obtain the needed security clearance." _

"_One of those she contacted was Sheldon. Although Mr. Wolowitz was his friend, he felt the need to open up about him. He mentioned about how Howard, in trying to impress a woman, had moved the Mars Rover. As it turned out, not only was no harm done, the move proved to be of value to the mission. With what was at stake, especially for his friend, I would argue he could have been more circumspect; especially when he apparently did it out of spite and not with any real concern about national security."_

"_In any case, Howard did not get his clearance. Not only that, Caltech was moved to the bottom of the list for any future projects. There is no doubt it set back Wolowitz's career as well as possible career advancements for others."_

_Mrs. Latham broke in, "I would hope that he was at least in trouble with his friends. I would think they would be deeply troubled."_

"_You would think so, but they were soon as thick as thieves again." He hesitated a moment, "I have had several individuals who have been a victim of Dr. Cooper's let's say lack of social skills, state that they would have reacted more strongly if Dr. Hofstadter was not such a firm friend and defender of Cooper. In contrast to how Cooper is perceived, Dr. Hofstadter is highly regarded and liked. Perhaps his friends feel the same way."_

Penny remembered how she had been surprised at the time that Howard had seemed willing to forgive Sheldon. She realized how often Leonard had been the calming force when Sheldon had pushed the limits more than usual. But then she just pushed that all out of her mind. However he appeared to the others, Penny knew Sheldon better than anyone. He was brilliant, handsome, and fascinating. They had always had a sort of love/hate relationship. She had come to believe she was the one person who really understood him and was able to relate to him.

Leonard looked at her and wondered what she was thinking. Although he firmly believed he had come because of his past friendship with Penny, he wondered if he had been also hiding a hope that she might change her mind. He was not foolish enough to believe they could ever be together again, but he just felt she deserved someone better than Sheldon.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Again I want to thank my reviewers. I so appreciate your opinions. I still own nothing.**

Penny had finished off what had remained of her bottle of wine and got up to open a new bottle. She asked Leonard if he needed more water but he showed her an almost full bottle. As she was getting out and opening another bottle, she looked back at Leonard on the couch and realized how strange this was.

It was like their positions had reversed. She was the one who was living with Sheldon, while he was the outside one. For a long time, she had felt that Sheldon was in a sense their responsibility. That they were his cushion against the outside world; that they protected him from himself. They had often joked how he was their child but in many ways it had been true.

And while it was true that Sheldon had been there for her too; as when she had hurt her shoulder, those times were far outstripped by things Leonard had done for her.

It was also true that Sheldon had often been condescending to her, not exactly treating her with respect; but she had always considered that part of the package, a sign she was a member of the group. She had seemed to be able to relate to Sheldon in a way even Leonard couldn't. When Leonard and the others had abandoned Sheldon, it had seemed natural, even mandatory that she step in. Perhaps she even felt guilty that it was her actions that had driven Leonard away.

But while she could admit it had something to do with her and Sheldon getting together, she also knew she did love him and wanted to marry him. But as she returned with her wine, the nagging thought that her relationship was built out of some sense of responsibility for what had happened wouldn't completely leave her.

Leonard sat on the couch and watched as Penny went into the kitchen. He knew he should probably not want anything to do with her. Not only had she dumped him in front of his friends because she couldn't say she loved him, she had no problem saying it to Sheldon and even agreeing to marry him.

But almost from the first moment he had seen her, he had wanted her to be part of his life. It seemed she couldn't do anything to completely destroy that. He often regretted his decision to move away, maybe he should have worked harder to be her friend again. Then there was Sheldon. He also had felt guilty for leaving him alone. Maybe none of this would have happened if he had stayed. Sighing, he watched as Penny returned.

The next event that Leonard needed to discuss was personally painful to him. Although it was probably true that Sheldon had caused the situation to escalate out of control, he and the rest were hardly innocent. He also had often wondered how Penny had really felt about it all, what she thought about how they all had acted.

_Dr Benjamin Montief looked around the room just before he called the meeting to order. "As you are all aware, this Board of Inquiry has been created to determine whether the defendants willfully and maliciously interfered with a science project sponsored and backed by the National Science Foundation. I am Dr. Benjamin Montief representing the Foundation. Joining with me in making the decision is Dr. Harrison Wilson, a member of the Board of Directors of The California Institute of Technology, and Dr. Eileen Sanders, a recognized expert in the field of Monopole Research." _

_"__I wish to state that this is not a criminal or civil trial. All of you are here voluntarily and may leave at any time. I must state however, that this panel does have the ability to deal out censures and recommendations that can have a severe affect on your careers. Also, your absence would preclude you from presenting your side of the story. Is that understood?" Getting affirmation from everyone he went on, "All right, let's proceed."_

_"__Are all participants present? As I read your name, please acknowledge, Dr. Sheldon Cooper, Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, Mr. Howard Wolowitz, Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali." _

_Noting all were present, "As it was his allegations that led to the creation of this Inquiry, I call upon Dr. Sheldon Cooper" As Sheldon stood up Montief continued, "As this is not a trial you will not be sworn in; however, if it is determined that you have lied to us, there will be repercussions. You may proceed, Doctor."_

_Sheldon got to his feet dressed in a conservative black suit picked out by Penny. She had told Leonard that she believed him that Sheldon had overreacted but also said she wasn't going to have him appear in one of his dreadful sport coats._

_"__Thank you, Dr. Montief. Based upon my quite brilliant and comprehensive paper on Monopoles, the Academy made the obvious decision to allow me to prove my theory. They asked me to take a team to the Arctic Circle. I am almost ashamed to admit what I did next. Going against my normal predilection, to let the selection of the team be an intellectual exercise, I made the unfortunate emotional decision to take four of my closest acquaintances."_

_"__It was immediately obvious that they would not have been selected on their merits."_

_"__Almost from the beginning, they were arrayed against me, probably based on the realization that they were unsuited to the task. I also believe they were expressing long simmering jealously over my intellectual superiority. This animosity went so far as to have them discuss a method of killing me. You do not have to take my word for that, they told me themselves."_

_"__They apparently abandoned that idea, presumably fearing prosecution, but decided instead to sabotage my experiment, thus harming my career."_

_"__Somehow figuring out that an electric can opener would cause a false blip, they proceeded to repeatedly cause such errors, thus destroying the credibility of my experiment. They withheld this information from me until we had returned, mistakenly assuming that I would just accept their apology and that things would return to normal."_

_"__Aside from ruining my results, their subterfuge also persuaded me to send a message to my fellow scientists about the results, thus also marring my reputation and forcing me to submit an embarrassing correction."_

_"__It has been a difficult decision for me to bring this matter before this inquiry. After all, I did consider these individuals my friends, but I could not allow this attempt to hurt my career to continue. I reluctantly ask that they be forced to make a public apology, stating how they contaminated my data and ruined my chance to win a Nobel Prize. I am afraid I must also ask they be censured and prevented from ever participating in any future Foundation project. Thank you."_

_"__Thank you, Dr. Cooper." Turning to the panel, "Do either of you have a question?"_

_Dr. Sanders spoke up, "I have several but wish to only ask one at this time. I will reserve the right to ask the others after I have heard from the defendants." Turning to Sheldon, with a slight hint of incredulity in her voice, "Dr. Cooper, did you say the false blips were caused by an electric can opener?"_

_"__That is correct."_

_"__That's all the questions I have for now."_

_Dr. Montief thanked her and turning to Leonard and the rest, "It is now time to hear from the defendants, "Who wants to go first?"_

_Leonard got to his feet, "If it is all right, Dr. Montief, I will speak for all of us."_

_"__I have no objection." He then looked at the others, "Do you both state for the record that Dr. Hofstadter speaks for you?"_

_Both Howard and Raj said, "Yes, Sir."_

_"__Very well, you may proceed, Dr. Hofstadter."_

_"__Thank you."_

_"__I have thought long and hard deciding if I should take this inquiry's time to say the following, but I finally determined it is a part of our defense."_

_"__As Dr. Cooper stated, we have been friends for some time. In fact, have been his roommate for ten years and consider him my best friend. I must also state though that Dr. Cooper is not an easy individual to live with or deal with. You do not have to take my word for that, I am sure there are many at the University that would tell you the same."_

_"__He implied that he mistakenly let his emotions choose us. The truth is that it would have been difficult to get anyone who knows him to accompany him."_

_"__It is true that we once discussed possible ways to kill him, but only as a way of venting our frustrations as to how he treated us. I will not even honor the idea we would actually consider doing so with a dismissal. I will also not spend a lot of time on what our concerns were. None of them would be so heinous as to justify what happened, but on the other hand, they went beyond how we would expect to be treated."_

_"__I also want to make clear that we did not figure out that an electric can opener would cause false signals. Frankly, how would that be possible? Besides, Shel… Dr. Cooper is the expert on Monopoles."_

_"__The false signals were created because of normal use of the can opener. It was not until it happened three times that Howard realized the connection between the two. It seems now that it should have been obvious to us all, but the idea was so absurd that it never occurred to the rest of us."_

_"__I want to make it clear now that we are all ashamed that we did not inform Dr. Cooper. I know it is a fine distinction, but we did not continue to keep him in the dark as revenge for the way he had treated us but rather to keep him from doing so again while we were there. Once he thought we had been successful, Dr. Cooper refrained from most of the actions that had so aggravated us."_

_"__However, having said all that, none of this really has anything to do with Dr. Cooper's allegation. None of what happened interfered with the experiment itself. Our actions had no effect on the ability of the experiment to find monopoles. We did not cause the false signals and our not telling Dr. Cooper did not harm the project. If Howard had not hit on the truth, the effect would have been the same. We did not rob Dr. Cooper of a Nobel Prize. The experiment was a failure, no real Monopoles were ever discovered."_

_"__One final point. We are sincerely sorry that our actions caused Dr. Cooper to send misleading messages as to the success of the mission. But, quite frankly, such an action was premature and goes against normal scientific procedures about not making final conclusions until the data is thoroughly researched. With Dr. Cooper's knowledge of Monopoles, I am sure he would have determined the blips were false and thus spared himself the need to send a correction."_

_"__If Dr. Cooper wishes us to make a formal apology for our hiding the truth from him, we will agree to that, but only that. Such an apology would give him cover for his premature message."_

_"__That is all we have to say. Thank you for your attention and the opportunity to present our case."_

_"__Thank you, Dr. Hofstadter. Dr. Sanders, did you say you had more questions?"_

_"__Yes, Doctor, but Dr. Hofstadter has addressed them."_

_"__Do you have any questions or comments, Dr. Wilson?"_

_As one of the protectors of Sheldon Cooper, Dr. Wilson had made sure he got on the board to protect his interests. He had been ready to see to it that Hofstadter and the rest were exposed for ruining Dr. Cooper's chance for a Nobel Prize. But now he wasn't sure what to do. Unfortunately, he agreed with Dr. Hofstadter. From the facts presented, he couldn't see how what they had done had affected the final results. In fact, he now saw another danger. What if it got out that Dr. Sheldon Cooper, an expert on Monopoles, had been fooled by a can opener? He had to somehow bury this whole mess._

_"__No, I have no questions."_

_"__We will then recess while we consider our decision. I am confident we will be able to resolve this quickly. I will ask all of you to wait here. Please make use of any of our facilities you require. There are machines for food and liquid refreshments."_

_While the judges were out, Sheldon and the others studiously ignored each other, with some relieving themselves and getting some refreshments. It was only about forty-five minutes later that they returned. _

_Dr. Montief continued to speak for the group, "After careful consideration, we frankly find that we are disappointed in the actions taken by the defendants. They acted in a less than professional manner. At the same time, we also can not find that those actions affected the functioning of the experiment or altered its results. As to the misleading message, it is our belief that Dr. Cooper contributed greatly to that mistake by not conforming to scientific protocols."_

_"__Therefore, it is our unanimous decision that no action be taken against the defendants. We also recommend that there be no further assertions by Dr. Cooper that he was somehow deprived of a Nobel Prize. In fact, we strongly suggest that this matter be considered closed."_

Penny looked over at Leonard. Discussing what had happened at the North Pole always evoked contrasting emotions for her. On one hand, she remembered it as the time she discovered how she felt about Leonard, that he was more than her friend. But it also reminded her of how it had ended. The snowflake that had brought her so much joy, was now a reminder of what might have been. As for Sheldon, she had felt sorry for him at first, but then was angry at him for what he tried to do to Leonard and the others. As usual, it had been Leonard who had worked to defuse the situation. He and the others apologized again for what they had done, for giving him false hope. It took some time, but Sheldon finally felt forced to admit that the experiment had not been a complete success.

Leonard noticed Penny looking at him. He again wondered what she was thinking. Bringing up that trip had been painful. That day they returned had been a dream come true, the realization that Penny had feelings for him. But it also reminded him of what had happened to that dream.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N I loved your reviews. It is so interesting and exciting to hear your views. As usual, I own nothing and will soon be returning these characters to their rightful owners.**

Penny glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall and was surprised it was nearly six o'clock. Normally, Sheldon would be home but had joined a club at the Train Store that kept him out until nine o'clock on Wednesdays. Apparently, Leonard knew of that.

She watched as Leonard returned from the bathroom. She still wasn't exactly sure where this was all going but knew discussing these events concerning Sheldon was not heading toward anything but trouble. She still wondered why Leonard was doing this, but had decided to see it through.

After they were both seated again, Leonard began again, "I am almost through. There are just a couple more incidents to discuss, but they are perhaps the most important…"

_Mrs. Latham was getting impatient, "Those are interesting stories but hardly that damning. I don't see how they would dissuade another college from taking a chance on Cooper."_

_"__That is true to a point, but they do show a pattern of Cooper's arrogance and how he treats people around him. Also, accusing fellow scientists wrongly is a serious matter."_

_"__I suppose, but the rest of them didn't show too well either."_

_"__In any case, they show a pattern of behavior that leads to the last two incidents, which are much more useful."_

_He stretched to get more comfortable and continued, "You may already know about this, as it attracted a lot of attention. Some time ago, Dr. Cooper announced a major breakthrough. He claimed to have discovered a stable super heavy element."_

_"__Well, this is what his supporters on the Board had been waiting for. This would shut up all the naysayers. Now, usually a discovery of this type would take some time to be proven or disproven, but almost immediately a Chinese team announced they had verified his theory."_

_"__Accolades poured in. Cooper and Caltech were being mentioned everywhere. Awards were being discussed and the Board hurried to give him a raise. There was even some early talk of a possible Nobel Prize."_

_"__Unfortunately, the glitter faded a little when it was discovered that the discovery was based on a mathematical error. Apparently Dr. Cooper had misread a metric table and his calculations were way off, but his conclusion was somehow right. At first, it seemed like a disaster but then we all just decided that he had been lucky, but that still the concept was sound. After all, accidents had produced great discoveries before. Fleming and Penicillin for example. It became known as the Wonder Blunder."_

_"__But then it all fell apart. Dr. Hofstadter ran an experiment that proved the theory was completely wrong, that the Chinese had apparently fudged their numbers or were incompetent."_

_"__Everyone scrambled to cover up. The only saving grace for the University was that the refutation had been done internally. The Board quickly issued a statement saying that although the details proved to be inaccurate, the overall concept showed Dr. Cooper's potential. But his support outside his core supporters was beginning to slip badly. This was the second time he had jumped the gun and made him have to issue a retraction."_

That incident was painful to watch for Penny. It had been strange to see Sheldon seemingly bothered by the accolades coming his way, feeling he didn't deserve them. But when Leonard disproved it, he was sorry to see it end. Once again, Leonard played the conciliator, not bragging about his proving Sheldon wrong, but commiserating with him and defending him against those who wanted a little payback for how Sheldon had treated them.

Leonard was glad he was nearing the end. Going over these incidents had awakened feelings he had hoped he had put behind him.

"I won't spend much time on the last one because you were involved…"

_Alex Jensen was fed up. She had given up on another opportunity to come to Caltech. When she was assigned to help Dr. Cooper, she had been excited and sure she had made the right choice. Oh, she knew he was difficult to work with, but she couldn't wait to aid him in his work which she found fascinating. And even those who knocked him had to admit how brilliant he was. _

_But it had turned out to be a total bust. The first task of checking through his childhood theories was hardly worthy of her talents. But it was his opposition to her helping him that really frustrated her. The final straw had come the a few days prior, when he had told her he wanted her to help him with something. In spite of herself, she got excited, was he finally going to let her do some real work?_

_But he just wanted her to find him a goofy hard hat for some silly game he wanted to play. But the real blow fell when she heard him talking to himself as she left. Something about how ridiculous it was that she felt she could contribute. Then saying kids say the darndest things. _

_She started to think about how to get out. She really couldn't just quit without some reason and complaining about your boss was not looked on with favor. _

_While she was still working on it, one of the bright spots of her job had occurred the previous day. She had gone over to Dr. Cooper's to take part in another of his loony ideas, having her listening to him talking in his sleep. At first, she had hoped maybe they would be entertaining, maybe even something she could have fun with; but it turned out he was just as arrogant and boring when he was sleeping as when he was awake. But she was thrilled to see Dr. Hofstadter was there. She had developed quite a crush on him. Once, when Dr. Cooper had embarrassed her in the cafeteria, Dr. Hofstadter had come to her aid, defying him. She found him to be cute and funny. But then she had been shocked to find out he had a beautiful girlfriend. She still did enjoy being around him. They talked for a time but when she let out she would like to have dinner with him some time, he had knocked over the tower they were playing with._

_The next day, Dr. Cooper said he wanted to talk to her. She wondered what tedious chore he had for her this time. But to her utter shock and horror, he went off on a rant about her sexually harassing someone. He topped off insulting her by comparing her to some spoiled eggs by showing her pictures of men's diseased genitalia. _

_She had gone straight from his office to HR, formally lodging a complaint. Even in her distress, she realized this could be her escape._

_A few days later, she was informed Dr. Cooper wanted to speak with her again. She was relieved when it turned out he had been ordered to apologize to her. He didn't really sound sincere, but when he did say he had also been instructed to take a class, she decided to let it go. She felt she would be able to get away from him now by saying that it would just be difficult to work with him._

_Then, he stunned her by saying he wanted her to take the class because he was just too busy. She was so angry she didn't even realize she had left his office. In her haste she ran right into Dr. Hofstadter. She tried to push past him but he wouldn't let her go until she told him what was wrong. He told her he understood her wanting to contact HR but asked her to give him a chance to set Sheldon straight. She finally agreed and they returned to the office. Well, he really tore into Dr. Cooper telling him how stupid and arrogant he was being. How he had got off lucky with just a slap on the wrist and was blowing it. In the end, she received a more sincere apology and his assurance he would take the class. Again, she decided to let it go because she was thankful for Dr. Hofstadter's help and because she knew she would soon not have to deal with Dr. Cooper again. _

_But when she was contacted later by the Board of Directors, she told them everything._

_Mrs. Latham sat back. "That's more like it. Nothing in these times is quite as damaging as any hint of sexual harassment. Along with the rest, I think we have a shot."_

As he finished, Leonard sat back and finished off his water bottle. Penny took a sip of her wine and finally asked the question she had wanted to ask since this all started.

"Okay, Leonard, what was this all about? What did you come to warn me about? What does it have to do with all this past history?"

Leonard sighed and sat up, looking directly at her, "I wanted you to hear about these events that happened so you would fully understand what is behind what is going to happen. I didn't want you to get blindsided. And I guess I felt even Sheldon has the right to know about all this in case he wanted to fight it."

"Fight what? What is going on?"

"Mrs. Latham was successful. She and a few of the other large donors got through to the Board. In the next few days, Sheldon is going to be fired for cause. The Board is going to inform him they will do everything they can to be sure that no other prestigious university will be willing to take a chance on him."

Penny was stunned. She had known it would be something like this, maybe a scolding, maybe forcing him to teach a class or take some kind of demotion, but nothing like what Leonard was saying. Sheldon would be crushed.

She looked up at Leonard. She thought for a minute that he might be enjoying this, but could see he was distraught.

Then she had another thought, "Why, Leonard? Why did you come? With all we have done to you, why did you want to warn us?"

Leonard took a deep breath and looked down. He was afraid she would ask this. He had not been exactly sure why he had come, but after spending this time with Penny, he knew. "I thought I came because of old times, that I wanted to give you a chance. But now I know I was hiding the truth from myself."

He looked her in the eye, "I know its crazy, after all that has happened, but a part of me still loves you."

When Penny gave a small sad smile and said, "Not so crazy, I love you, too," Leonard could just stare at her completely stunned.

"Oh, Leonard, you had to have known how I felt about you. I loved you back then but not the way you wanted, not the way you needed, not the way you deserved. I also realized I was in love with Sheldon too."

Leonard finally managed to get out, "But you're marrying him."

"That's because he needs me and because I need to be there for him."

Leonard nodded and then said, "You know it's going to be rough."

"I know, but we'll survive."

Leonard looked at his watch, "I better get going, Sheldon will be home soon."

As he rose, he looked back at her and with a sad smile said softly, "Goodbye, Penny."

She surprised him by rising and taking his hand in hers, squeezing it gently, "Goodbye, Leonard, and thank you."

He put his other hand over hers and they looked at each other for a few moments. Then he removed his hands and as Penny watched, went out the door without looking back.

**A/N Well, that's it, except for a (very) short epilogue. Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me and especially those who took time to review. **


	5. Epilogue

**A/N Once again, I want to thank my reviewers. You guys make my day. I am so impressed by your input and observations. I also sincerely want to thank all of you who honor me by reading my stories. I am now returning these characters to where they belong. **

Mary Cooper was surprised and elated when Penny and Sheldon agreed to be married in her church.

She was disappointed though when they told her they had mutually agreed not to have children.

Acting like a woman scorned, The Board of Directors lived up to their threat and Sheldon was not able to find a commiserate position at any major college.

They ended up at a college in a small city in Texas. With Penny's help and constant pushing, Sheldon became a barely functional teacher. He spent his free time when he wasn't cleaning or feeling sorry for himself writing scientific papers under the name Dr. Leonard Howard. When one of his papers was printed in an obscure scientific publication, he treated it briefly like vindication but soon sank back into self-pity.

As for Penny, she became a local celebrity. She went to work for the local television station, became their news anchor and also hosted a show of her own. It became known for excellent interviews and incisive reporting on local institutions and prominent local figures.

She also was a regular performer at the local theatre group.

Even her most ardent supporters were impressed when she announced she had obtained an exclusive telephone interview with a recent Nobel Prize winner.

Penny sat nervously in her chair on her set. It was getting dangerously close to air time and they still did not have their esteemed guest on the phone. Her producer had assured her he had locked it up with the man's publicist.

But just then Jack came running up smiling broadly and gave her a thumbs up.

Penny smiled and said excitedly, "We have him?"

"Yeah, he's on line one. My God, it's thirty seconds to air time."

As Jack turned to talk to someone, Penny smiled to herself; he really did have a great butt.

Then, taking in a short breath, she slowly reached out and gently pushed button number one.

"Hey, Leonard."

"Hi, Penny."

Jack gave her the five second signal. She turned to the camera and smiled as the red light came on.

"Good Afternoon, everybody. My name is Penny Cooper and this is 'Penny Presents.'"

"Today, I have a very special guest. I will be talking via telephone to the Chair of the Physics Department of The California Institute of Technology, Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, who recently won this year's Nobel Prize for Physics."

"I want to thank you, Dr. Hofstadter, for taking time to speak with me and my audience today."

"My Pleasure."

"To get started, Doctor, could you give us a quick summary…"


End file.
